Iranian attacks have severely damaged 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, potentially sidelining 12.8 million tons per year of LNG for three to five years, according to QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi. The CEO revealed that two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains and one of its two gas-to-liquids (GTL) facilities were damaged in unprecedented strikes, which he described as an attack by a “brotherly Muslim country” during Ramadan. The damage is expected to result in an estimated $20 billion in annual revenue losses and disrupt supplies to Europe and Asia. Al-Kaabi stated that QatarEnergy will declare force majeure on long-term LNG contracts for up to five years, affecting shipments to Italy, Belgium, South Korea, and China. The damaged facilities, which include LNG trains S4 and S6, are owned in part by U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, which holds 34% and 30% stakes in the affected units, respectively. The CEO emphasized that repairs will require hostilities to cease, with some facilities taking up to a year to restore. The attacks have also impacted Qatar’s exports of condensate, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), helium, naphtha, and sulfur, with reductions of 24%, 13%, 14%, and 6% respectively. These losses affect industries ranging from Indian restaurant sectors reliant on LPG to South Korea’s chipmakers using helium. The damaged facilities, which cost approximately $26 billion to build, have delayed Qatar’s North Field expansion project by more than a year. Al-Kaabi criticized the geopolitical tensions, stating that the attacks on Gulf oil and gas infrastructure are a regional issue between Iran and Israel, urging all nations to avoid targeting energy facilities. He warned that the damage has set the region back 10 to 20 years, damaging Qatar’s reputation as a safe haven.#iran #qatar #qatarenergy #saad_al_kaabi #exxonmobil
